NATURAL GAS HYDRO-FRACKING IN SHALE
August 3, 2011 Read the report, Finger Lakes Region Gas Lease Mapping Report
Read the report, Protecting New York’s Air, Land, Water and People: What’s the Hydro-Fracking Rush?
Visit the CCE Hydro-Fracking Resource Center
Industrial gas development using high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or hydro-fracking, poses inherent environmental and public health risks. New York State is considering allowing a generic permit for hydro-fracking operations. Governor Cuomo has the final say on if and how hydro-fracking will occur in New York State.
What is Hydro-Fracking?
To recover natural gas deposits in shale formations, including the Marcellus and Utica, the industry uses a process termed high volume hydraulic fracturing, which uses millions of gallons of water, laced with a cocktail of chemicals, to fracture shale and release gas. Read more ...
Inherent Risks of Hydro-Fracking
Hydro-fracking activities operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during production. Volumes of toxic, radioactive, and caustic liquid waste by-products pose storage, treatment, and disposal problems. Regular operations, as well as accidents can adversely impact the environment and public health. Especially problematic is the lack of federal protection for drinking water, air quality, water treatment infrastructure, and landowner liability.
Communities from Texas to Pennsylvania have already been impacted from industrial hydro-fracking operations. A peer reviewed study published in the National Academy of Science found water wells near gas wells had 17 times higher methane levels. Families in Dimock, PA live with drinking water contaminated with methane and heavy metals. Blowouts from gas wells have spewed liquid fracking waste into the air and into local streams.
Primary concerns include human and environmental exposure to:
- Radioactivity that is a physical characteristic of Marcellus shale.
- The hazardous cocktail of hydro-fracking chemicals injected into the ground.
- Air pollution from diesel engines, compressor stations, and flaring.
- Brine that is 5x saltier than seawater that can damage freshwater streams and lakes, as well as corrode infrastructure.
- Hazardous liquid and solid waste that is stored on-site, transported on public roads, and disposed of at municipal landfills or sewage treatment plants.
What’s the Rush?
New Yorkers cannot and must not choose between energy and clean water; we need both. The gas trapped in shale is not going anywhere. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the process of studying the impacts of hydro-fracking on water, with the results expected in September 2012. New information about hydro-fracking emerges regularly, including a recent study indicating that air emissions are on par with strip mining for coal. In May 2011, the NYS Assembly was the first legislative body in the country to hold a hearing on public health concerns with hydro-fracking. It is imperative for New York State to take the time needed to ensure protection of the state’s priceless water resources, signature community character, and clean air.
New York’s Oil and Gas Rules Are Out of Date
New York State is currently using outdated rules and regulations to govern oil, gas, and mineral extraction activities. Current regulations were established in 1985 and are in critical need of being modernized to reflect new knowledge gained in the last 26 years. Additionally, New York has not addressed the cumulative impact of industrial gas drilling that could occur from the Catskills to Western New York.
As a candidate, Governor Cuomo called “existing watersheds sacrosanct” and that he “would not support any drilling that would threaten the State’s major sources of drinking water.” New York’s water is most sacred, as is our air, land, and communities. Urge Governor Cuomo to protect New York’s air, land, water and people from new drilling.
How you can help:
Email or write to Governor Cuomo and tell him:
- I agree that our waters are “sacrosanct” and I urge you to protect everybody’s drinking water from gas drilling;
- Immediately update New York’s out-dated oil, gas, and mining rules and regulations to protect public health and the environment, prior to considering new drilling; and
- Require an assessment of cumulative impacts caused by all industrial gas development.
*Please share why clean drinking water is important to you and remember to include your name & address in your email/letter.*
Please forward any response to hydrofracking@citizenscampaign.org or mail to Citizens Campaign for the Environment, 466 Westcott St. 2nd Floor, Syracuse, NY 13210. It helps us track progress on the issue.
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Additional Information on Hydro-fracking
Oil and gas companies are eager to use unconventional, resource intensive drilling methods to recover natural gas from shale deposits in New York State. In September 2009, the state released draft regulations to permit this drilling. CCE is working to protect drinking water, public health, and habitat for fish and wildlife as part of any proposal to use high-volume hydraulic fracturing (hydro-fracking) of the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations.
Victory! New York State adopts time out on hydro-fracking
Revised rules to be released "on or about June 1, 2011." While this important victory is a testament to the collective power of concerned citizens, much work remains to be done.
In 2011, CCE continues to advocate that the NYSDEC slow the rush to hydro-frack New York State. CCE supports the ongoing study by the Environmental Protection Agency on hydraulic fracturing process and water. The New York State legislature is considering legislation to further address hydro-fracking in New York State. Read about CCE’s 2011 NYS Legislative Agenda.
New York relies upon natural gas for 24% of its energy supply. New York’s natural gas demand is primarily met through sources from the Gulf Coast and Canada. New York State sits atop one of the largest shale formations in the United States, which contains large deposits of natural gas. This formation is called the Marcellus Shale. Additionally, New York has other shale formations, including the Utica Shale formation. Oil and gas companies propose to recover natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica Shales by combining hydraulic fracturing of the shale with horizontal gas drilling wells.
What is High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing?
Large deposits of natural gas are estimated to be located deep within the Marcellus shale formation. The natural gas is trapped in pockets, or veins, where the shale naturally fractured during settling. It is more commercially viable to extract Marcellus Shale through high volume hydro-fracking. Hydraulic fracturing is a process of fracturing rock in order to release the natural gas from isolated veins within the shale formation. The fractured rock is kept open using a “proppant” typically composed of sand or other chemicals. High-volume hydraulic fracturing is named because it uses millions of gallons of water per well. In order to capture a commercially viable amount of gas from the Marcellus shale formation the well is drilled vertically to approximately 500 feet above the formation and then the wellbore is turned horizontal to tap all the tiny pockets and veins of gas in the shale. In Pennsylvania a typical horizontal wellbore is 4,500 feet.
According to the DEC there are four primary differences between horizontal drilling and vertical drilling: 1) larger rigs with longer per well drilling time; 2) a higher likelihood of multi-well pads; 3) Using drilling mud rather than air to cool and power the drill; 4) the volume of rock cuttings associated with high volume hydro-fracking.
In July 2008 Governor Paterson signed the well-spacing law which allows for multiple wells to be drilled off of one well-pad. Because multiple wells can be drilled off the well-pad there will be a larger acreage of disturbance during the drilling and during production. During drilling a single well would disturb approximately 3 acres of land and during production where there is partial reclamation there would be 1.5 acres disturbed. For a multi-well pad, 5 acres of land is disturbed, and during production it is 3 acres. Multi-well pads are an attractive solution to minimize land disturbance for natural gas drilling. The drawback is in the concentration of waste generated during the drilling process. Multi-well pads tend to have six wells per pad so the waste generated by a high-volume hydraulic fracturing process is quite substantive.
Drilling mud is used by horizontal, or directional, drilling to cool and power the drill. Drilling mud can be 1) water-based; 2) potassium-chloride/polymer-based with a mineral oil lubricant; or 3) synthetic oil-based. After the drilling occurs the well is fractured. For high-volume hydro-fracking for Marcellus shale a process known as slickwater fracking is proposed. According to the industry it is 98% freshwater, and according to the DEC there are 12 classes of additives proposed to be included: 1) the proppant; 2) acid; 3) breaker; 4) bactericide/biocide; 5) clay stabilizer; 6) corrosion inhibitor; 7) crosslinker; 8) friction reducer; 9) gelling agent; 10) iron control; 11) scale inhibitor; 12) surfactant. These additives are comprised of a variety of chemicals and many of them are toxic. Even though they are only 2% of the solution for slickwater fracking, the problem is compounded by the fact that this is multiplied by millions of gallons.
Rock cuttings from a vertical well to 7,000 feet would be approximately 125 cubic yards and for horizontal wells drilled to the same depth with a 3,000 foot lateral would be 165 cubic yards. These cuttings are stored temporarily on-site in an open, lined storage pit and then disposed of as hazardous waste.
What is Marcellus & Utica Shale?
Named for the exposed outcrop in Marcellus, NY, Marcellus Shale is a large deposit of black shale and is characterized by being very rich in unoxidized carbon. Marcellus Shale covers most of New York State and ranges in depths down to 7,000 feet below the surface and is included in most of the Appalachia. The larger Marcellus shale formation becomes thinner as it moves from east to west and is named for an exposed outcrop in Marcellus, NY. Utica Shale is deposited broadly across the Appalachian Basin and into Ontario, Canada. In New York there is an outcrop along the west and southeast sides of the Adirondack Mountains, and is also exposed along the northern Allegany Plateau. It ranges in depths to over 9,000 feet in the southern portion of the state. One of the characteristics that is common with black shale is that it contains trace levels of uranium. The concentration of this uranium at the surface, on drilling equipment, and in combination with drilling muds, fracking fluid, and other elements exposed in the process of drilling is the primary cause for concern with exposing this shale. The proper disposal of these cuttings, worker exposure, and the potential contamination from open on-site storage must be adequately addressed and present significant environmental and public health challenges.
Protect NY’s Air, Land & Water
Sound science must inform New York State’s rules governing the controversial and polluting practice of hydraulic fracturing gas drilling. Hydraulic fracturing, or hydro-fracking, is under-regulated and poses serious threats to New York State’s water, air, land, and people. Last year, Congress directed the EPA to study the environmental impacts from hydro-fracking. The study is expected to be completed in September 2012. New York should consider EPA’s findings prior to allowing industrial gas drilling in New York’s watersheds.
To recover natural gas deposits in deep shale formations the industry prefers to use hydro-fracking; a process that uses millions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals to fracture the shale and release natural gas. Volumes of toxic, caustic, and potentially radioactive liquid waste byproducts are created in the hydro-fracking process, with no real plan for safe treatment and disposal. Effective lobbying by the oil and gas industry has led to key exemptions from a laundry list of environmental safeguards, including the Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act, and Superfund. New York’s air, land, water and people are vulnerable to hydro-fracking pollution due to inadequate federal and state oversight.
Unfiltered Water Supplies Statewide, Including New York City and Syracuse, Remain Vulnerable
On Friday, April 23, 2010, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced that New York City and Syracuse watersheds, both which have filtration avoidance waivers from the EPA will have a separate review process to permit hydro-fracking. This separate process allows these communities to remain susceptible to concentrated industrialization and pollution. Communities served by aquifers and surface water sources remain vulnerable as well.
Clean Water is Priceless
New York State’s proposed guidelines for hydro-fracking are significantly flawed and fail to assure protection of public health and New York’s environment. Lacking the infrastructure to address toxic waste byproducts NY could drill itself into economic ruin. Adopting a moratorium until the EPA study is completed is a sensible and proactive policy to allow decisions to be based on sound science, provide opportunities for state and federal legislators to restore environmental and public protections, and ensure that New York learns from the drastic hydro-fracking consequences being experienced in neighboring states like Pennsylvania.
Storing, transporting, and treating liquid wastes from hydro-fracking poses a significant risk for drinking water quality and public health:
- Flowback Fluid—is the contaminated fluid that returns to the surface during the drilling process, and is estimated to be between 9%-35% of the fluids injected during drilling. The flowback contains harmful chemicals and other residuals from the drilling process. The industry prefers to store flowback fluid in open lagoons.
- Production Brine—can be 5 times saltier than seawater and flows to the surface during gas production. The production brine’s high salinity content and concentration can adversely impact water treatment plants and freshwater ecosystems.
- Radioactivity—is a physical characteristic of the natural geology of shale, and hydro-fracking can create new routes of exposure. The radioactivity of production brine waste from traditional vertical wells drilled into Marcellus Shale was found to be 267 times the recommended EPA levels under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
